The relationship between doctor and patient begins to blur in Final,
the directorial debut of actor Campbell Scott (Hamlet,
Spring Forward). The movie feels
like a stage play because it is one, adapted by Bruce McIntosh. Like some
plays adapted to the big screen, Final never quite works. It is
a great showcase for Denis Leary's acting talent, otherwise Final
drags at times to pace itself for the surprise conclusion. Leary (Lakeboat,
Company Man) is Bill, a man who
wakes up in a Connecticut hospital. He is disoriented at first, but slowly
regains his senses. When he does, he seems even crazier than before.

Anne Johnson (Hope Davis, Joe Gould's
Secret, Arlington Road)
is Bill's doctor. She believes he needs help and tells him thus. In order
for him to be well enough to leave the hospital, he must acknowledge that
he has a problem and do something about it. Bill believes that the current
time is far in the future, and that shortly people will come to kill him.
Because Bill's behavior is initially erratic, it takes awhile for Hope
to tease this information from him. As their sessions progress, Bill and
Hope feel a closeness that violates the doctor/patient relationship.

Final was shot on digital, giving it a cheap, grainy look. Since
most of the film takes place in Bill's hospital room, it also gives the
film a sense of claustrophobia and immediateness. Even for digital, it
looks a little shoddy, but this serves only to focus more attention on
Davis and Leary. Davis' performance is stoic and on the bland side, only
because her character needs to maintain a detachment from the patient.
Leary's Bill runs the gamut from coherent to maniacal. This is his deepest
role to date, and showcases a heretofore unknown depth to his acting ability.

Scott is trying to make the audience wonder whether Bill is truly insane.
There are numerous differing flashbacks that offer insight on how Bill
came to the hospital. Initially, he has no memory of the event leading
up to his hospitalization. Johnson tells him that he was in an automobile
accident, but he believes otherwise. The problem is that Scott spends
too much time exploring the mental battles between Bill and Johnson. What
is initially interesting becomes dull and repetitive. The answer comes
only near the end, which is also when Final actually begins to
get interesting. It is also when Hope's character begins to emerge from
her seeming silence to take a proactive role in the proceedings. Too little
too late.

Mongoose Rates It: Not That Good.

1 hour, 51 minutes, Not Rated but contains some language,
probably a PG-13 or R.